A few days ago, The Chicago Sun-Times published a chart on unemployment rates for college graduates and a short article on the “edge” liberal arts majors enjoy. The overall rate of unemployment is 8.9%. The rates for liberal arts majors is a little higher, 9.2%. The accompanying article informs us that liberal arts graduates with strong analytical, reasoning, and writing skills are more likely to be hired. What the article doesn’t say is that students who major in science and business are less likely to be unemployed. The two majors with the lowest unemployment were elementary education (4.8%) and nursing (4%).
What’s the take away? Don’t get caught up in statistics. Whatever major a college graduate has, she faces a challenging job market. Rather than focus on macro statistics, the best way to find a job is to identify the skills you have that employers want. Control what you can control, and use your time to pursue jobs, not bad news.
